Fruit-basket.



J. WAGNER.

- FRUIT BASKET. .APPLIOATION I'ILEI) DEO.4, 1907.

Patented Sept. 21, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SEEET 1.

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J. WAGNER.

' FRUIT BASKET.

APPLICATION FILED DEG. 4, 1907.

934,485. ,Patented Sept. 21. 1909.

2 SHEETS- -SHEET 2,

%vitu %see %wa w akavua JOHN 'WAGNER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

FRUIT-BASKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1909.

Application filed December 4, 1907.' Serial No. 405,013.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN VVAGNER, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fruit-Baskets, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in baskets and more particularly to that class of baskets known as fruit baskets and constructed of a single piece of material.

`he present invention has for its objects among others to provide a simple and cheap basket which shall be strong and durable and having means for ventilating the interior of the basket, some of said ventilating means serving also as aiding 'in the attachment of the handle.

Other objects and advantages of the invention Wlll hereinafter appear and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, with the numerals of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification and in which- Figure l is a plan view of the blank from which the basket is formed. Fig. 2 is a like view of the blank which constitutes the cover. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the handle detached. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the basket complete. F ig. 5 is a substantially central vertical longitudinal section through the complete basket. Fig. 6 is a substantially central vertical cross section through the basket with the cover in position.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the several Views.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. l shows the blank which is formed of a single piece of suitable material and comprises the central portion l constituting the bottom of the basket, the end portions 2, 2 which are designed to turn up along the dotted lines 3, 3 to reinforce the ends of the basket, and the two side portions 4 and 5. The side portions 4 and 5 are of substantially uniform Width throughout, the portion 5 near its ends being provided with substantially V- shaped notches 6 formed by the severance of the ends of the portion 4 from the body portion of the blank without wasting of material. The end portions 2, 2 have their 'ends cut off as at 7 leaving the spaces 8, 8

as shown, and the bottom portion 1 has its corners rounded, as at 9, 9, so as to give the requisite shape to the basket. The portion 5 is formed at one end with a slot 10 substantially parallel with the adjacent end of said portion while near the opposite end it is formed with a pointed tongue ll formed by punching or severing the material along two lines of a triangle, the tongue being adapted to be bent along the remaining side 12, as shown, for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. The portion 5 is formed with eXtension pieces. or flaps 13 and 14. The Central flap 13 is notched, as at 15, 16 and 17, so as to admit said fiap when down turned to slightly eX- tend in length as it necessarily has to do when it is turned down on the outside of the portion 5. By thus notching or scoring the said flap it Wlll bend down more readily against the outer surface of the side portion 5. Between the center flap 13 and the end fiaps or extensions 14 there are notches 18 of considerable length, which spaces receive the points of the upturned end portions 2 which latter are designed to bear directly against the surface of the side portion 5. These flans serve to reinforce and stilfen the upper edge of the basket, and being turned over they also serve in a measure to make a rounded or smooth edge.

19, in Fig. 2, shows the blank from which the cover is formed. It is preferably made of the same material as the body of the basket. It has at each end a triangular portion 20 about one and a half inches long, and at the sides the cover is provided with the side projections 21 from five-eighths of an inch to three-quarters of an inch wide, more or less, for a purpose which will soon be made clear.

The handle is shown in Fig. 3. It is formed of a single piece of material preferably wire with two reverse or S-shaped bends 22, one at each side, substantially at the midlength thereof. The handle is of hard spring wire so that the loops or bends thereof will hold on to the basket with elastic pressure. The extreme lower ends of the handle are bent in opposite directions, as seen at 23. In

setting up the basket from the blank above described, the side portion 5 is first turned up over all the other parts and the end portions 24 and 25 made to overlap, the looking tongue 11 being passed through the slit 10 from the inside so as to overlap on the outside. The basket is formed preferably around a form of wood or other material, and its lock lO-ll is for temporary use in holding the side 5 around the form while the other parts are being bent up to place. After the portion 5 is thus bent around and locked, the ends 2, 2 are turned up against the outside of the portion 5, and then the portion 4 is bent up to place around the outside of the bent up end portion 2, 2, the end 26 thereof overlapping the end 27. When the parts are all thus folded up and brought firmly together, eyelets 28 are passed through the ends preferably three at each end, as shown, and two at each side, as shown at 29, these eyelets serving to secure all of the overlapping plies of the basket firmly together to make the body firm and strong, and these eyelets serve also as means for ventilating the interior of the basket. The flaps or extensions 13 and 14 are bent down close against the outside of the part 5 before the part 4 is bent around to place.

-When the cover 19 is placed in position, the triangular end portions 20 are bent downward and inserted within the outer part 4 or between said part and the end portions 2 respectively. Next the handle 30 is applied. The inner portions of the S-shaped bends thereof are passed down over the two edges of the basket, the parts of the wire below the bends being on the inside of the basket, as seen clearly in Fig. 6. These bends or loops are normally forned nearly closed so as to firrnly pinch within them the parts of the basket embraced or held by them. The extreme lower ends 23 of the handle are passed outward through the lower eyelets 29, as seen clearly in Fig. 6, and these ends being bent in opposite directions they better resist displacement of the handle or bail. If they were curved in the sane direction a side swing of the bail or handle toward one end or the other of the basket might serve to simultaneously unhook both; but being oppositely bent, a sway of the bail or handle in either direction would act to more securely hook and hold either one or the other of the Curved points in the eyelet. The side projections 21 of the cover are designed to be bent downward into the two outer loops of the S-shaped bends in the sides of the handle, as seen in Fig. 6. These loops are formed to pinch the parts 21 sufliciently to hold the cover securely down on to the basket at the middle, the end portions 20 serving to hold, by friction, the cover down at the ends.

Modifications in detail may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What is claimed as new is 1. A blank for a basket, formed of a single piece and comprising a central portion, end portions, and side portions separated from the end portions, said end portions being confiued within the area of the side portions, the ends of one side portion being extended beyond the adjacent side of the other side portion and one of the side portions having a slit and the other having a tongue to be received in said slit.

2. A blank for a basket, formed of a single piece and conprising a central portion, end portions, side portions with flaps upon one of said side portions, one of said side portions having a slit and a tongue to engage therein. v

5. A blank for a basket, formed of a single piece and comprising a bottom or central portion with end portions, and side portions, the ends of one of which extend beyond the adjacent side of the other side portion.

4. A blank for a basket, formed of a single piece and coniprising a central portion with end portions, and side portions separatecl from the end portions, one of the side portions having its ends extended beyond the adjacent side of the other side portion and one of the side portions having a slit and a tongue at opposite ends thereof, the slit to receive the tongue.

5. A blank for a basket formed of a single piece and conprising a central portion with end portions, and side portions the ends of one of which extend beyond the adjacent' side of the other side portion, and one of the side portions having flaps and a slit and a tongue to engage in said slit.

6. A-basket having side portions folded upon each other and overlapped, hollow means securing the side portions together, and a handle having its ends engaged in said securing means.

7. A basket having overlapped folded sides, hollow rivets securing them together, and a handle having bends pinching the uper ed 'es of said sides and havin its ends 4 p b b received in said hollow rivets.

8. A basket having overlapped folded sides, hollow rivets securing said sides to` gether, and a handle having bends pinching the upper edges of the sides and ends passed through said rivets withsaid ends turned in opposite directions.

9. A basket, and a handle therefor having its side portions formed with reverse bends, one of which engages the upper edge of the sides of the basket, and a cover having depending portions received in the other bends.

10. A basket and a cover therefor, and a i andle having means for pinching the sides of the basket and securing the cover in place.

1 1. A hasket having ventilating openings In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set in its sides, and a handle having bends to my hand this 30th day of November, 1907, pnch the upper edges of the sdes and end in the presence of two subscribing Wtnesses. 10

portions bent in oppose directons and en- JOHN WAGNER. 5 gaging in said ventlatng openings, and a `W1tnesses:

cover having depending portions engaged in ENOS B. WHITMORE,

bends of said handle. A. M. WHITMORE. 

